Good Morning All!
This past Sunday I had the pleasure of coming upon a little stand on the street corner just a block from our home. Three neighborhood children were selling Otter Pops for 25 cents each. They picked a great day to set up their business, as it was pretty hot that day. I stopped by and bought two Otter Pops and tipped them 50 cents and commended them for the entrepreneurial spirit. I told them that businesses like theirs is a major factor in helping our country be successful. It’s great to see kids seize the initiative like this and venture out into the business world at their young ages. Here’s to them and here’s to all small business owners throughout the world! (And the Otter Pops sure hit the spot!).
Well it must be the end of Spring today, as I saw a fledgling little robin fall out of its nest and take its first flight yesterday. How great a sight to behold as the newness of life in a living creature! It sure was cute! Here’s to Spring as we look forward to the dawning of Summer tomorrow!
My Mom continues to recover from her recent heart event. It’s a slow go, as this last adventure has been really hard on her. As I mentioned to her yesterday, it really “took the starch right out of you.” She’s feeling down in the dumps right now, but I had to remind her that it’s only been four days or so since she was released from the cardiac care unit at Deaconess Medical Center. It’s hard to keep perspective when something like this happens to you. We’ll just need to take it one day at a time and recovery from this sort of event is more of a marathon than a sprint. She has a resilient spirit and determination, so I’m hopeful (and most especially prayerful) that she regains her strength with each passing day. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support for her recovery!
Three friends are having birthday celebrations tomorrow (June 19th)…Happy Birthday to John Softich, who turns 52; to Kim Zangar, one of the first State Troopers in Washington State history who celebrates her remarkable life tomorrow; and to Mike Malcom, outstanding Lewiston/Clarkston resident and family friend, who is 72 tomorrow. Here’s to all of you! And Happy Birthday today to Sir Paul McCartney of “The Beatles” fame, who is 77 today; to actress Isabella Rossellini who was fabulous in “White Nights” with Gregory Hines and Mikael Barishnikov (sp?), who turns 67 today; and to Lou Brock of St. Louis Cardinals fame, who is 80 today! Thanks to all of you for all of the great performances over the years!
Here’s some more from my recent World War II-related adventures with my friend Harold Voltz:
A couple of things about Belgium and France that deserve mention for any of you who haven’t traveled there yet…when you order coffee, be sure you ask for a “long” coffee or “American” coffee…otherwise, you’ll end up with a teeny, tiny cup of expresso…and don’t assume that you’ll be automatically served a glass of water…you’ll need to specifically ask for it and be sure let the wait staff know that you want “still” water…otherwise you’ll get sparkling water (which is certainly a delightful alternative to plain water from time to time)…also be sure to ask for “still” water with ice…otherwise you’ll get just a plain glass of room temperature (tap) water with no ice. Just some “tricks of the trade” I picked up rather quickly in the restaurants of Europe!
While we were at the American Cemetery in Collevielle-de-Ser at Normandy, I struck up a conversation with one of my fellow tour participants, Donna Dorsch of Ohio. Come to find out, her maiden name is Semler and her brother, Roger Semler was a National Park Ranger at Glacier National Park (my happy place!) for some 17 years! He now lives in Missoula, Montana. When I first heard the last name Semler, I immediately wondered if her family was any relation to my dear friends Bill & Kathy Semmler in Spokane…but they spell their last name with one “m” instead of two “ms”. Donna did say that the families are probably related, it’s just that the family offshoots used a different spelling when they came to America. Things like that really make family history research more of a challenge, don’t you think?
Upon our return from Normandy to our hotel in Caen, Harold & I were on a search mission for a “real” French restaurant. Fortunately, two of our tour compatriots, a father-son team from Chicago (they are both podiatrists) had come upon a terrific French restaurant across from the marina in Caen (Caen is some 10-15 miles from the coast, but is connected to the ocean (The English Channel) by the river Orne). They asked if we’d like to tag along with them and we said “you bet” (or something like that!). Well, we were not disappointed. I had a grilled sea bass that was delicious! Mouth watering would be a better way to describe it. We had a great bottle of red wine to boot. The waitress had a great command of the English language which made everything easy for us. A great meal with a great couple of guys. I goofed on the coffee at the end of the meal, and just ordered “coffee.” Well, as you may recall in my writings above, you’ve got to ask for “long” coffee if you don’t want to end up with a tiny cup of espresso!
It was a bit of a navigational challenge to get around in the center of Caen, as they are in the midst of building a light rail system. On our way out to Normandy earlier in the day, our guide explained that 60%-90% of livestock was destroyed during the D-Day invasion, depending on the specific location in Normandy. That’s hard to get your arms around, for sure. What a devastating experience for the French…to not only lose their cities/towns, but to lose the source of their livelihoods during the war.
Wouldn’t you know that our tour bus number is “13”! Why would anyone (who’s superstitious) assign the number “13” to anything??? I asked my fellow tour participants how many have “My Pillow” pillows at home and, to my surprise, only 3 or 4 of us have “My Pillow.” You’d have thought with all the advertising that Mike, the “My Pillow” guy does on television, he’d have a greater market share in the pillow department! Surprisingly (at least to me) out of 38 tour bus riders, only 3-4 of us use “My Pillow” pillows…will wonders never cease???
May 21, 2019
This morning we departed Caen (I’d come back here for another visit sometime, for sure…a great French city with lots & lots of history going back centuries), we crossed the LaHarve Bridge, one of the five longest bridges in the world. It spans the Seine River. The bridge span can be seen from the Sword & Juno beaches at Normandy. LaHarve is the second largest harbor in France (Marseille in southern France is the largest) and LaHarve was totally destroyed in World War II. Another of LaHarve’s claim to fame is that it is a major center of impressionist painting. While we were traveling along on our way across France to Bastogne and the Ardennes Forest region, our guide said that 13,000 homes were bombed out in Normandy during the way and 20,000 civilians died in Normandy. He mentioned that 11,000,000 people died in concentration camps prior to and during World War II…mind boggling to say the least!
I must say that Europe “one ups” America in the rest stop/convenience store category. When you stop along the freeway/highway in Europe, you have a choice of an array of food items…lots of freshly made food items, ham carved from the bone, fresh sandwiches, buffets with all kinds of food choices and they are all really well maintained…clean and bright and inviting…we could take a lesson from Europeans on how to operate these kinds of stores. The only drawback is that in some places you have to pay to use the toilet….usually .50 or .70 Euros, but you do get a .50 Euro credit.receipt at the pay stalls that can be redeemed toward the purchase of a small item (candy bar, bag of chips, etc.). Another thing that intrigued me about these highway convenience stops (with gas stations & food stores/restaurants) is how the truckers in Europe decorate the cabs of their rigs. They have all kinds of dolls and stuffed animals and favorite soccer team banners and pictures and all sorts of things that remind them of the comforts of home. And I guess if I was on the road as a trucker, why wouldn’t you decorate your cab to remind you of the things you love and/or to have some fun in expressing yourself through your truck cab!
To be continued…
Here is the silly question of the day (related to all of the dairy farms in Normandy):
Q: What do you call a cow that has just given birth?
A: Decaffeinated.
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“I became, and remain, my characters’ close and intent watcher: their director, never. Their creator I cannot feel that I was, or am.”
—Elizabeth Bowen, Irish playwright
“Don’t let anyone call you a minority if you’re black or Hispanic or belong to some other ethnic group. You’re not less than anybody else.”
—Gwendolyn Brooks, American poet (1917-2000)
“All those toys were never intended to possess my heart. My true good is in another world, and my only real treasure is Christ.”
—C.S. Lewis, “The Problem Of Pain”, as quoted in C.S. Lewis’ Little Book of Wisdom; Meditations on Faith, Life, Love & Literature” (2018)
Here’s to a great Tuesday and lots of love always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)